The invention generally relates to generating energy, such as electricity, and in particular, to using natural pressure from a large mass, such as the ocean, to generate electricity.
The desire to develop new methods of generating electricity has been a driving force throughout recent human history. There are two main methods of generating electricity each with its own challenges: one uses fuel as the energy source and the other utilizes natural phenomena as the energy source. Fuel-based energy generation has problems with the cost of the fuel as well as the polluting byproducts of fuel consumption. Exemplary fuels used as the energy source for energy generation include coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, and the like. The challenges associated with using natural phenomena as the energy source vary with the technology used. Solar and wind forces do not produce energy in a predictable amount and the energy is often generated during off-peak consumer demand. Hydroelectric power provides a source of energy that can be harvested when needed, but the damming of bodies of water causes significant environmental harm. Other natural phenomena used to produce energy, for example, ocean waves, ocean thermal and buoyancy, are expensive to build and maintain relative to the amount of energy they produce.
There are a few inventors who have utilized the potential energy from the gravitational force from deep sea water to create pressure differentials between deep water and a low pressure vessel to produce useful work or energy. Several use a pressure differential to force saltwater through a reverse osmosis device and produce fresh water. U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,148 to Bosley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,441 to Raether and U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,635 to Watkins are examples. These inventions make no attempt to produce electricity and do not utilize a closed cycle.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,994,134 and 4,619,593 both to Molnar claim to use man-made pressure differential in the deep sea to create electricity. In these patents pressurized seawater is allowed into a depressurized chamber via a water inlet whereby the natural flow of water from the higher to lower pressure effects the drive of a turbine. The turbine drives an electric generator to produce electricity. Then water is returned to the sea in a manner that is claimed to consume less energy than is produced. The main problems with this invention are: (1) the energy needed to return low pressure water into a high water pressure environment; (2) the turbine buckets, water inlets and water outlets are exposed to corrosive sea water; and (3) the difficulty of maintaining the flow of a large enough volume of water to produce a significant amount of energy.
In spite of the improvements disclosed in the prior art there is no practical method and apparatus to translate the potential energy created by the gravitational force of a large mass of liquid or solid into kinetic energy and in turn utilize that kinetic energy to safely and efficiently generate electricity. The use of gravitational force of a mass of liquid or solid to induce pressure on a closed cycle of a fluid as described herein for the present invention is unprecedented.
One potential source of energy production that has been largely overlooked is force from the pressure exerted by a large mass of liquid or solid, for example, the ocean. The potential energy from the gravitational force from the weight of a mass of liquid or solid is constant and in equilibrium unless this state is upset by nature or man-made apparatus. This force can be converted from potential energy, to kinetic energy and then to electrical energy and/or work by creating a pressure differential and utilizing the well known ideal gas laws. A substantial advance is made in the art to overcome problems of the prior art by an apparatus and method operating on this principle. This apparatus provides a way to produce unlimited amounts of energy efficiently and with minimal pollution. The invention establishes a new method and technology for the production of electricity and/or work.
According to the invention, a fluid travels through a closed cycle/system, which includes a depressurized vessel and a vessel that communicates with a high pressure caused by a large mass of liquid or solid. This creates a pressure differential within the cycle/system and causes the fluid to continually contract and expand, due to the changes in pressure. When the fluid transitions to the expansion phase, a work producing machine converts the expansion of the fluid into useful work and/or energy.